PSG.LGD dominated all the way to the end of group play with a 2-0 win over Thunder Awaken on Monday at the PGL Arlington Major in Arlington, Texas.
PSG.LGD concluded Group A action at 7-1, recording wins in 27 and 33 minutes, both on red. PSG.LGD finished No. 1 overall in group play.
In other Group A action, OG swept Talon, Outsiders defeated Soniqs and Team Liquid played to a tie with Royal Never Give Up.
Joining PSG.LGD in the playoffs from Group A are Outsiders (3-4-1), OG (3-3-2) and Fnatic (2-5-1).
In Group B, Team Aster (3-4-0), Entity (3-3-1), Team Spirit (3-3-1) and BOOM Esports (2-3-2) qualified for the playoffs.
Seventeen teams from around the world are competing for shares of a $500,000 prize pool, including a grand prize of $200,000. In the Group Stage, they were drawn into groups of nine and eight for single round robins, with all matches best-of-two.
The fifth- and sixth-place teams from each group advanced to the lower bracket. The double-elimination bracket of best-of-three matches takes place this week, with the best-of-five grand final scheduled for Sunday.
The lower-bracket teams from Group A are RNG and Team Liquid. Evil Geniuses and beastcoast make the playoffs in the lower bracket from Group B.
On Monday, Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang of Malaysia led PSG.LGD with a kills-deaths-assists ratio of 7.0-3.5-10.5.
OG defeated Talon in 27 and 28 minutes, both on red. Bulgaria’s Bozhidar “bzm” Bogdanov led OG with a K-D-A slash line of 9.0-2.0-15.0.
Outsiders bested Soniqs in 33 and 28 minutes, both coming on red. Danil “gpk” Skutin led the all-Russian side with a K-D-A of 11.0-3.0-11.0.
Liquid took the first map in 64 minutes on green, but Royal Never Give Up equalized with a win in 43 minutes on green. Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen of Finland led Liquid with a 12.0-6.0-15.0 K-D-A. Anathan “ana” Pham of Australia led RNG with a slash line of 10.0-4.0-16.0.
Upper bracket quarterfinals begin Tuesday with four matches:
PSG.LGD vs. BOOM Esports
Entity vs. OG
Outsiders vs. Team Spirit
Team Aster vs. Fnatic
The losers of Tuesday’s matches will drop down to the lower bracket for games later this week.
Group A
1. PSG.LGD, 7-1-0, 15-1
2. Outsiders, 3-4-1, 10-6
3. OG, 3-3-2, 9-7
4. Fnatic, 2-5-1, 9-7
5. Royal Never Give Up, 2-4-2, 8-8
6. Team Liquid, 1-5-2, 7-9
7. Talon Esports, 1-3-4, 5-11
8. Thunder Awaken, 0-5-3, 5-11
9. Soniqs, 0-4-4, 4-12
Group B
1. Team Aster, 3-4-0, 10-4
2. Entity, 3-3-1, 9-5
3. Team Spirit, 3-3-1, 9-5
4. BOOM Esports, 2-3-2, 7-7
5. Evil Geniuses, 2-2-3, 6-8
6. beastcoast, 1-4-2, 6-8
7. Natus Vincere, 2-1-4, 5-9
8. Tundra Esports, 0-4-3, 4-10
Prize pool
1st: TBD — $200,000, 820 DPC points
2nd: TBD — $100,000, 740
3rd: TBD — 75,000, 670
4th: TBD — 50,000, 590
5th-6th: TBD — $25,000, 515
7th-8th: TBD — $12,500, 360
9th-12th: TBD
13th-14th: Talon Esports, Natus Vincere
15th-16th: Thunder Awaken, Tundra Esports
17th: Soniqs
–Field Level Media